Having Your Own Drinks on a Cruise Ship: A Complete Guide to Cruise Line Policies

Thinking about having your own drinks on a cruise ship? Understanding what drinks you can bring on board is crucial to setting a budget and ensuring a smooth embarkation.

While most cruise lines have strict policies regarding alcoholic beverages, many allow certain amounts of wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Here’s everything you need to know about having your own drinks on board different cruise lines.

General rules for bringing drinks on board

Are you allowed to have your own drinks on a cruise ship? The answer (generally) is yes, but with significant limitations. Alcoholic beverages are generally prohibited on all major cruise lines, with most only allowing limited wine or champagne. The main reason for these restrictions is to protect revenue, as beverage sales represent a significant source of income for cruise operators. If you drink your own wine, you wouldn’t buy a drink kit…

Any alcoholic beverages discovered in your baggage during security screening will likely be confiscated and stored until disembarkation. This applies not only to the drinks you try to bring on board initially, but also to any alcoholic beverages purchased during intermediate port stops or from duty-free shops on board.

Beverage policies at a glance

Note: Bottled water is usually permitted for those with specific, documented medical needs. Contact your cruise line directly for further guidance.

Royal Caribbean International

Can you have drinks on board Royal Caribbean? Royal Caribbean allows guests to bring one sealed 750ml bottle of wine or champagne per person of drinking age on the day of departure. Boxed wine and other containers are prohibited.

For non-alcoholic beverages, guests may bring up to 12 cans, bottles or standard cartons (17 ounces) per stateroom as carry-on items. Milk and distilled water are also permitted for infant, medical or nutritional use.

More information about Royal Caribbean’s alcohol rules can be found here.

A quick overview of Royal Caribbean’s beverage allowances:
Wine: 1 bottle 🍾
Soft drink: 12 cans 🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤

Princess trips

Princess Cruises offers the most generous wine policy among the major cruise lines. Passengers can bring as much wine and champagne as they want on board. However, there is a problem: after the first free bottle, they charge a $20 corkage fee for each additional bottle consumed in the public areas.

But beer and spirits are prohibited.

Top tip: He reads Princess Cruises Drink Packages: Your Complete Guide to Plus and Premier Options To discover why investing in a Princess Cruises drinks package makes perfect sense.

Additional tip: Payment The ultimate guide: How to get free drinks on a Princess cruise

More information about Princess Cruises’ alcohol rules can be found here.

Princess drinks allowance at a glance:
Wine: 1 bottle 🍾
Soft drink: 12 cans 🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤

Carnival Cruise Line

The carnival allows one bottle of wine per passenger. For non-alcoholic beverages, guests can bring up to 12 cans of soda, but bottles are not allowed.

More information about carnival alcohol rules can be found here here.

Carnival drink allowances at a glance:
Wine: 1 bottle 🍾
Soft drink: 12 cans 🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤

P&O Flights

Can I have drinks on a P&O ship? P&O Cruises allows each guest 18 years or older to bring up to one liter of wine or champagne on board upon first boarding. Can you have a soft drink on P&O flights in the UK? Yes, guests can bring 6 cans of soda on board.

Can you have soft drinks on P&O flights in the UK? The answer is yes – P&O allows passengers to bring up to 6 cans of soft drinks per person when boarding. If wine is consumed in dining rooms, bars, restaurants or lounge areas, it is subject to a corkage fee of £20 per bottle.

More information can be found on P&O Cruise Line rules here.

P&O beverage allowance at a glance:
Wine: 1 bottle 🍾
Soft drink: 12 cans 🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤

MSC flights

MSC Cruises has one of the strictest policies. It is forbidden to bring alcoholic and soft drinks on board. However, their Guest Conduct Policy contains vague language stating that guests are “prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board” unless “permitted by our security or crew personnel,” which could theoretically allow for exceptions.

verify MSC Guest Conduct Policy For more information.

MSC beverage allowance at a glance:
Wine: ❌
Soft drink: ❌

Cunard Line

Cunard allows one bottle of wine per passenger on board, but charges a fee if it is consumed outside your stateroom. As a premium line focused on traditional luxury cruises, Cunard maintains the strictest standards for beverage service.

Cunard rules can be found here.

Cunard beverage allowances at a glance:
Wine: 1 bottle 🍾
Soft drink: 12 cans 🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤

Ambassador Cruise Line

Can you have soft drinks on Ambassador cruises? Ambassador has a zero-tolerance alcohol policy, with no alcoholic beverages permitted on board. However, guests may bring 12 cans of soda per person. This makes Ambassador one of the most restrictive lines for alcohol but accommodates non-alcoholic beverages.

To be fair to the Ambassador, they do seem to have one of the pricier drinks menus at sea, so their BYOB policy may not be as bad as you think. Especially if you have on-board credit with your booking (see below ⬇️).

Read our The Complete Guide to Ambassador Drink Packages for Cruises To learn more

verify Ambassador transportation conditions For more information.

Ambassador beverage allowances at a glance:
Wine: ❌
Soft drink: 12 cans 🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)

Norwegian Cruise Line allows guests aged 21 or over to bring one 750ml sealed bottle of wine or champagne on board on the day of departure. However, unlike many other cruise lines, NCL charges $15 for a standard bottle (or $30 for a 1,500ml magnum) even if the wine is consumed in your stateroom. The only exception to this corkage fee is if you have purchased a qualifying NCL beverage package or included one as part of the Free at Sea promotion.

As of July 2016, Norwegian has implemented one of the strictest soft drink policies in the industry – All non-alcoholic beverages including water, soda and juices are prohibited on board. This policy applies to both carry-on baggage and checked baggage. The only exceptions are factory-sealed purified or distilled water intended for medical devices or infant formula preparation.

verify NCL Prohibited Items List.

NCL beverage allowance at a glance:
Wine: 1 bottle 🍾
Soft drink: ❌

Celebrity travels

Celebrity Cruises allows each guest of legal drinking age to bring a sealed 750ml bottle of wine or champagne on board on the day of departure at no additional charge. This wine can be consumed in your stateroom without any corkage fees.

For non-alcoholic beverages, Celebrity allows up to 12 standard cans or bottles of soft drinks per meeting room. It must be carried in hand luggage and is subject to security screening.

Check out our celebrity travels Guest health and safety conduct policy For more.

Celebrity drink allowances at a glance:
Wine: 1 bottle 🍾
Soft drink: 12 cans 🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤

Virgin flights

Virgin Voyages allows passengers to bring two 750ml bottles of wine per cabin, but these must be carried in hand luggage only. If you choose to consume your wine outside your stateroom in the public areas, corkage fees may apply.

For soft drinks, Virgin allows a maximum of 12 unopened, sealed cans or cartons (each capacity 12 ounces or less) per person in hand luggage. Most importantly, bottles of any kind – whether glass or plastic – are not allowed. Only cans and cartons are allowed for non-alcoholic drinks.

Read full List of items prohibited from Virgin Voyages.

Virgin Voyages beverage allowances at a glance:
Wine: 1 bottle 🍾
Soft drink: 12 cans 🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤

Marilla Cruising

Marella Cruising imposes a complete ban on bringing any alcoholic beverages on board. All alcoholic beverages must be purchased and served by Marella crew members only.

During boarding, they reserve the right to search your luggage and confiscate any alcoholic beverages not purchased on your flight (you must retain proof of purchase of duty-free alcoholic beverages). Any alcohol confiscated will be returned upon departure.

Take a look at Frequently asked questions about marella cruises.

Marella drink allowances at a glance:
Wine: ❌
Soft drink: ❌

Fred Olsen’s Travels

Fred Olsen Cruises has a strict no-alcohol policy regarding beverages brought by guests. Guests cannot bring their own alcoholic beverages on board for consumption under any circumstances. Any alcohol purchased during shore excursions must be handed over to security staff for storage and will not be returned until the end of the cruise.

Fred Olsen offers on-board ordering services through room service or in-room shopping models if you wish to purchase wine, champagne or spirits for consumption during your cruise.

Read more at Frequently asked questions about Fred Olsen.

Fred Olsen’s beverage allowance at a glance:
Wine: ❌
Soft drink: ❌

What happens to confiscated drinks?

Any alcoholic beverages detected during security screening will be removed from baggage and stored until disembarkation. This includes alcoholic beverages purchased during a port stop or from duty-free shops on board, which must be declared on the gangway and will be stored until the cruise ends.

The security screening process at cruise terminals is similar to airport security, except that there are no liquid restrictions regarding carry-on luggage on cruise vacations only. Annoyingly, this means you may be asked to remove your shoes and have them checked.

Consuming your own beverage on a cruise ship – and ignoring the cruise line’s rules – will result in your alcohol/soda being removed. What’s worse is that your cruise line may throw away your drinks entirely, rather than hold them.

Important considerations

When consuming your own beverages on a cruise ship, remember that policies can vary based on the specific itinerary and ports of call. Some fonts may have different restrictions for different regions or flag states.

Most cruise lines offer extensive drink packages that may provide better value than bringing your own drinks, especially if you plan to consume multiple alcoholic beverages per day. These packages typically include a wide selection of wine, beer, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Understanding these policies before traveling will help ensure a smooth boarding process and prevent disappointment at the station. Always check with your cruise line for the latest policies, as they can change and may vary by ship or itinerary.

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